Karnataka J. Agric. Sci.

, 23 (2) : (282-285) 2010

Performance evaluation of tractor operated combine harvester

M. VEERANGOUDA, SUSHILENDRA, K. V. PRAKASH AND M. ANANTACHAR

Deparment of Farm Power and Machinery

College of Agricultural Engineering, Raichur - 584 102, India.
Mail: m.veerangouda@rediffmail.com

(Received : January, 2009)

Abstract: Paddy is one of the main crop in Raichur district of Karnataka. During harvesting season, shortage of labour
demands a suitable machinery in this region. Field evaluation trials of tractor operated combine harvester for harvesting of
paddy crop were carried out as per RNAM and BIS test codes in farmers' fields. The studies were also conducted for
comparing the cost of operation and saving in the cost over manual harvesting. The average value of effective field capacity of
the machine was found to be from 0.64 to 0.81 ha/h with field efficiency of 67.02 to 76.83 per cent. The harvesting losses were
in the range of 2.88 to 3.60 per cent for paddy harvesting. The cost of operation was lesser for tractor operated combine
harvester as compared to manual method by 57.65 to 65.55 per cent. The performance evaluation trials indicated the
suitability of machine for harvesting of paddy.

Key words : Paddy, harvesting, threshing, combine harvester, harvesting cost

Introduction potential for tractors in Karnataka and encouraged by the

In paddy cultivation, transplanting, harvesting and
threshing are the three major labour intensive operations.
Harvesting and threshing are the most important operations in
the entire range of field operations, which are laborious involving
human drudgery and requires about 150-200 man-hrs/ha for
harvesting of paddy alone.
Traditionally, paddy is harvested by manual labour
using sickles. Due to the non-availability of labourers, crop
harvesting is often delayed which exposes the crop to vagaries
of nature. Timely harvesting is utmost important, as delayed
harvesting leads to a considerable loss of grain and straw owing
to over maturity resulting in loss of grains by shattering and
also hampers the seed bed preparation and sowing operations
for the next crop. The paucity of labour force is forcing the
farmers to go for crops, which are more remunerative and less
labour intensive, thus affecting the paddy production.
Harvesting and threshing operations may be done
separately or in "one go" depending upon the availability of
equipment. Fast and efficient method of harvesting is the
immediate need of the farmers. At such stage, when timeliness
of harvesting and threshing operations is the main criterion, the
use of combine harvesters for harvesting of crop should be the
most appropriate. Nowadays, combine harvesters are becoming
popular among the farmers as it performs cutting, threshing and
winnowing operations simultaneously thus saving the time,
drudgery and labour involved in these operations.
Both in India and Karnataka, tractors constitute the
major item of agricultural machinery used for land preparation
and other crop production operations. The average annual sale
of tractors in Karnataka during past few years has been
increasing in number (Anonymous, 2003). Visualizing the great
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success of using tractors on hire basis, it would be
advantageous to use a tractor mounted combine harvester which
will also increase the annual usage of tractor thereby reducing
the cost of operation of tractor.
Material and methods
A commercially available tractor operated combine
harvester was procured and field-tested during the year 2007
for its performance in farmers' fields to determine field capacity,
field efficiency, harvesting losses, cost of operation etc.
Functional components of tractor mounted combine:
Tractor mounted combine harvester does the five major
operations during the harvesting. These may be classified as
(1) cutting the crop and feeding to the threshing cylinder (2)
threshing the grain from ear head (3) separating the grain from
the straw (4) cleaning the grain and (5) handling the grain after
threshing. These operations are performed automatically as the
material is moved through different systems of combine
harvester. The technical details and specifications of tractor
mounted combine harvester are furnished in Table 1.
Field evaluation trials: The field performance evaluation
trials of tractor mounted combine harvester were carried out in
the farmers fields of Sindhanur in Raichur district. The field
trials were conducted as per RNAM and BIS test code and
procedure. Field observations viz., operational speed of the
harvester, output (ha/h), number of skilled and unskilled labourers
required for machine harvesting, fuel consumption and grain
losses due to the combine harvester were recorded. The cost of
harvesting with combine harvester was computed and compared
with manual method of harvesting and threshing.
Tractor mounted combine harvester capacity: This
includes the parameters like net grain output (kg/h and kg/ha),
Karnataka J. Agric. Sci., 23 (2) : 2010

grain throughput (kg/h and kg/ha), straw output (kg/h and kg/ Straw output
ha) and crop throughput (tonnes/h). Straw output (kg/ha) = (Weight of straw X 10)/ Area
covered in 20 m run
Net grain output Straw output (kg/h) = Straw output (kg/ha) X Rate of
Net grain output (kg/h) = (3.6 X Weight of grain work (ha/h)
sample)/ Average time for 20 m length Net grain output (kg/ha) Crop throughput
= (10 X Weight of grain sample)/ Area covered in 20 m run Crop throughput (tonnes/h) = Grain throughput (kg/h)/1000 +
Straw output (kg/h)/1000
Grain throughput
Grain throughput (kg/ha) = (10 X total wt. of grain)/ Results and discussion
Area covered in 20 m run
The data collected during field evaluation trails were
Grain throughput (kg/h) = Grain throughput (kg/ha) X
analyzed to determine the field capacity, field efficiency, net
Rate of work (ha/h)
grain out put (kg/h and kg/ha), grain throughput (kg/h and kg/
Table 1. Technical specifications of tractor mounted combine harvester ha), straw out put (kg/h and kg/ha), crop throughput (tonnes/h)
Particulars Tractor operated combine harvester and collectable and non-collectable harvesting losses.
(i) Reel Assembly The performance of tractor mounted combine harvester
Type Tyne bar pick reel depends on its size, forward speed and yield of grain. The tractor
Diameter, mm 900 mounted combine harvester was operated at three different
Width, mm 3570 speeds i.e., 2.75 km/h, 3.00 km/h and 3.10 km/h. The average
(ii) Cutter bar values of effective field capacity are given in Table.2. The
Width, mm 3655 variations in the effective field capacity were due to the different
Height, mm 60-1000 forward speeds of machine. The highest average effective field
(iii) Threshing unit capacity of 0.81 ha/h was observed for a machine forward speed
Width, mm 1110
of 3.00 km/h. The average values of field efficiency for paddy
Threshing drum, rpm 650-865
with tractor mounted combine harvester were found to be
(iv) Concave
varying from 67.02 to 76.83 per cent.
Width, mm 1160
Adjustment Mechanical The parameters like net grain output (kg/h and kg/ha),
(v) Straw walker 5 grain throughput (kg/h and kg/ha), straw output (kg/h and kg/
No's Area, sq.m 3.85 ha) and crop throughput (tonnes/h) indicate the tractor operated
(vi) Cleaning sieves Adjustable open lip combine harvester capacities. The data pertaining to the average
Area, sq.m 1.96 values of net grain output, grain throughput, straw output and
(vii) Capacity of grain tank crop throughput are given in Table 3. The average values of
Wheat, Qtl. 10.5 grain throughput of the tractor mounted combine harvester was
Paddy, Qtl. 7.5 in the range of 2428.34 to 3014.46 kg/h whereas straw output in
Dimension
terms of kg/h varied from 1629.57 to 2069.86. The maximum
Length, mm 8180
average values of net grain output (kg/h and kg/ha), grain
Width, mm 3990
throughput (kg/h and kg/ha), straw output (kg/h and kg/ha)
Height, mm 3500
and crop throughput (tonnes/h) were observed in test field 2
Table 2. Field performance of tractor mounted combine harvester whereas the minimum values were observed for test field 3.
Parameters Average Results
Field 1 Field 2 Field 3
Crop parameters
Type of crop Paddy Paddy Paddy
Variety
Moisture content of grain, % (w.b) 24 20 18
Moisture content of straw, % (w.b) 26 24 20.5
Soil moisture content, % (d.b) 16 15 14.5
Bulk density, g/cc 1.05 1.01 1.03
Cone index, kg/cm2 2.04 2.00 2.02
Field performance
Average speed, km/h 2.75 3.00 3.10
Width of cutter bar, m 3.50 3.50 3.50
Total harvested time, sec 5625.00 4444.44 4615.38
Actual harvested time, sec 3750.00 3428.57 3302.75
Effective field capacity, ha/h 0.64 0.81 0.78
Theoretical field capacity, ha/h 0.96 1.05 1.09
Field efficiency, % 67.02 76.83 71.56
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Performance evaluation of .............

Table 3. Tractor mounted combine harvester capacity

Parameters Results
Combine harvester capacity Field 1 Field 2 Field 3
Speed of operation, km/h 2.75 3.00 3.10
Net grain output, (kg/h) 2735.56 3286.31 3327.60
Net grain output, (kg/ha) 2857.14 3142.86 3071.43
Grain throughput (kg/ha) 2890.88 3180.97 3107.69
Grain throughput (kg/h) 2428.34 3014.46 2862.87
Straw output (kg/ha) 1939.97 2133.88 2085.44
Straw output (kg/h) 1629.57 2069.86 1876.90
Crop throughput, (tonnes/h) 4.058 5.084 4.740

Table 4. Total harvesting losses with tractor mounted combine harvester for paddy
Parameters Results
Field 1 Field 2 Field 3
Speed of operation, km/h 2.75 3.00 3.10
A. Collectable loss, %
i) Unthreshed grains from main outlet, % 0.68 0.58 0.61
ii) Broken grains from main outlet, % 1.41 1.10 1.35
Total collectable loss, % 2.09 1.68 1.96
B. Non-collectable loss, %
i) Gathering/ cutter bar loss, % 1.05 0.90 0.95
ii) Cylinder and straw walker loss, %
a) Threshed grains, % 0.08 0.05 0.06
b) Unthreshed grains, % 0.02 0.01 0.015
c) Broken grains, % 0.003 0.0015 0.002
Total straw walker loss, % 0.103 0.0615 0.077
iii) Threshing/ cylinder loss 0.18 0.10 0.12
iv) Shoe loss, %
a) Threshed grains, % 0.15 0.12 0.14
b) Unthreshed grains, % 0.01 0.018 0.01
c) Broken grains, % 0.02 0.01 0.015
Total shoe loss, % 0.18 0.138 0.165
Total non-collectable loss, % 1.51 1.20 1.312
Total harvesting loss ( sum of collectable and 3.60 2.88 3.272
non-collectable loss), %
Pre-harvest loss, % 0.1 0.06 0.08
Threshing efficiency, % 94.14 96.50 95.50
Cleaning efficiency, % 92.72 94.00 93.50

Table 5. Cost analysis of manual harvesting and threshing of paddy

Conventional method Cost in Rs/ha
1. Cutting, bundling and loading the crop into tractor 1500
2. Transportation of crop to threshing yard 500
3. Threshing by tractor 500
4. Winnowing fan hiring charges 250
5. Labour charge for winnowing 250
6. Two bags (each 75 kg) of paddy loss 2000
Total 5000

The total harvesting loss refers to the summation of

gathering (cutter bar) loss, threshing/cylinder loss, walker and
shoe/separator losses. The combine was allowed to reach a
stable operating condition at a constant feed rate before the
collections were made. The average values of total harvesting
losses are given in Table 4.
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Karnataka J. Agric. Sci.,23 (2) : 2010

Table 6. Cost analysis for tractor mounted combine harvester

Parameters Results
Field 1 Field 2 Field 3
Speed of operation, km/h 2.75 3.00 3.10
1. Combine harvester charges, Rs/ h 1000 1000 1000
2. Effective field capacity of machine, ha/h 0.64 0.81 0.78
3. Cost of machine operation, Rs/ha 1562.50 1234.57 1282.05
4. Total harvesting loss due to machine operation, % 3.60 2.88 3.272
5. Total harvesting loss, kg/ha 104.07 91.61 101.68
6. Monetary value of lost grain in the form of 555.04 488.59 542.29
harvesting loss due to machine operation, Rs
7. Total harvesting cost, Rs/ha 2117.54 1723.16 1824.34

Fig 1. Cost analysis of tractor mounted combine harvester Fig 2. Cost benefit ratio for tractor mounted combine harvester

The average values of pre-harvest loss, gathering loss, Table 7. Cost benefit ratio
threshing loss, walker loss and shoe loss were in the range of Particulars Results
0.06 to 0.1 per cent, 0.90 to 1.05 per cent, 0.10 to 0.18 per cent, Field 1 Field 2 Field 3
0.0615 to 0.103 per cent and 0.138 to 0.18 per cent, respectively. Speed of operation, km/h 2.75 3.00 3.10
The average total collectable and non-collectable losses varied 1. Cost of total harvesting 5000 5000 5000
from 1.68 to 2.09 and 1.20 to 1.51 per cent, respectively and the and threshing by
average total harvesting loss were in the range of 2.88 to 3.60 conventional method, Rs/ha
per cent. 2. Cost of combine 2117.54 1723.16 1824.34
The cost of operation by manual method of harvesting, harvester operation, Rs/ha
tractor mounted combine harvester and cost benefit ratios are 3. Cost benefit ratio 2.36 2.90 2.74
presented in Tables 5 to 7. The cost of operation with tractor The average value of effective field capacity of tractor
mounted combine harvester for paddy were lesser as compared mounted combine varied from 0.64 to 0.81 ha/h for paddy
to conventional method of harvesting by 57.65 to 65.55 per cent. harvesting. The average values of field efficiency for paddy
The minimum value of cost benefit ratio of 2.36 was observed with tractor mounted combine harvester were found to be
for machine harvesting at a forward speed of 2.75 km/h and varying from 67.02 to 76.83 per cent. In case of tractor mounted
while the maximum value of 2.90 was observed for harvesting combine harvester, the harvesting losses were found to be in
paddy at a forward speed of 3.00 km/h. the range of 2.88 to 3.60 per cent for Paddy. For paddy
harvesting, the cost of operation was less with tractor mounted
The important conclusions of the field evaluation trials combine harvester as compared to manual method by 57.65 to
of tractor mounted combine harvester are enumerated as below. 65.55 per cent.
References
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combine harvester, Government of Karnataka, Dept. of Farm Development. Agril. Engg. Today, 6: 60-62.
Power & Machinery, CAE, Raichur. Sushilendra, 1996, Dynamics of power transmission in tractor front
Chauahn, A.M., 1983, Power tiller front mounted reaper. J. Agril. mounted paddy reaper. M.Tech. Thesis. Kerala Agric. Univ.,
Engg., 10(2):65-68. Tavanur (India).
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